Analysing the financial landscape of European households: Insights from panel data

Abstract

This article makes a significant contribution to the existing body of research concerning the subjective evaluations of household financial conditions and the objective analysis of economic circumstances and savings potential within households. The study elucidates the intricate relationships between subjective assessments of household financial situations, broader economic conditions, price trends, and savings potential. Drawing upon data pertaining to households' self-assessments of their current and future financial outlook, this paper undertakes a comprehensive examination of disparities across several European nations. The initial cross-sectional survey study encompassed all member countries of the European Union and Great Britain. The study spanned a timeframe of 32 months, from January 2018 to August 2020, divided into two distinct sub-periods: one preceding the onset of the pandemic and the other during its occurrence. Employing panel models, this research identifies factors significantly influencing subjective evaluations of household financial well-being. The estimations of model parameters during the pandemic period revealed noteworthy trends: assessments of household finances exhibited considerably greater consistency than those observed in the pre-pandemic era. Across both sub-periods, the findings consistently underscored a significant and positive correlation between the evaluation of the overall economic situation within the country and the potential for savings and the subjective assessment of household financial conditions. However, the findings from the pandemic period failed to corroborate a substantial link between assessments of past and future price trends and their impact on household financial evaluations. Furthermore, the regression coefficients within the models describing future financial evaluations demonstrated a pronounced increase when considering the dependent variable as the financial assessment of the preceding year. Given that household opinions hold paramount importance as target variables for economic policies, the investigation into the ramifications of subjective evaluations of household financial situations remains particularly pertinent. These evaluations can exert both direct influence, such as on household welfare, and indirect effects by guiding the formulation of pertinent financial instruments by institutions within the financial sector.